While the tests are intended to give a general idea of your computer’s connection speed, a number of factors can affect results. Depending on your broadband service, you may see slower speeds at certain times of the day, like in peak Internet use hours during the workday, or in the evenings, when video-streaming is a popular activity. Try to test your connection at various times.

Your physical distance from the testing server, your hardware and any other activity on your home network (like online gaming or large file downloads) during the test can also hamper your speed score. To rule out a slow wireless network, some sites recommend conducting the test over a wired Ethernet connection to your network router.